Dan Orlovsky shares one "unexpected" reason that helped Dillon Gabriel beat Shedeur Sanders for Browns QB2 job

NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky explained why he thought Dillon Gabriel beat out Shedeur Sanders for the backup quarterback job for the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns announced that Joe Flacco will be the team's starter, while Gabriel will be the backup, and Sanders the third-stringer. Gabriel and Sanders were in a competition for the backup job, with the former Oregon QB winning out in the end.

Orlovsky believes the preseason tape from Gabriel was better than Sanders', which is why he won the backup job.

"So the tape from week two of the preseason or week three of the preseason was very good. I think he plays really fast, he moves in the pocket very efficiently. And the one thing that maybe was unexpected was the arm strength was pretty significant," Orlovsky said on NFL Live on Tuesday (Timestamp: 9:57).

Sanders will continue to practice and develop behind Flacco and Gabriel with a focus on moving up the depth chart as his career progresses.

The Browns will open their 2025 NFL season on Sept. 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Browns coach praises Dillon Gabriel

The Cleveland Browns selected Dillon Gabriel in the third round, which was a surprise, but he did enough in training camp to win the backup job. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Gabriel improved every day and is someone they feel comfortable with as the backup.

"It's such an all-encompassing evaluation. Everything the guys did in the games was important. We also saw a lot of them out here in practice and how they are at their craft," Stefanski said, via NFL.com. "He's certainly somebody that we think is getting better and better."

After training camp, Cleveland traded Kenny Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 draft.

Gabriel is coming off leading the Oregon Ducks to a Big Ten championship. He was a six-year starter in college, so he has plenty of experience to be the backup quarterback behind Flacco.